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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Posts
    119

    Question What are the good hosts lately?

    Trying to save a little $ in this recession, want to downgrade from one of the "big name" companies where I have a dedicated server to a cheaper package.

    I'm open to shared, virtual, cloud or dedicated options. Current price range is $300-400+. Would be very happy to drop that to under $200 if possible. Even under $300 would be an improvement, though obviously not as preferable

    I currently use:

    1) 2-3+GB bw/mth
    2) ~20 gb disk space
    3) a couple of mailing lists on Mailman, only 1 really active at present but it's very low traffic
    4) cgi, php, mysql
    5) only 1 domain at present, multiple subdomains (currently less than 10, all low-no traffic)
    6) SSH, SCP, pop3/smtp, IMAP not needed
    7) linux, webmin, apache, sendmail
    8) DNS used to be BIND but is now handled by the hosting company's own DNS management interface. WHM/CPanel would be fine for me too.

    Things I would like but am open to alternative options:

    1) "unlimited" email accounts/forwarders/aliases (in practice probably less than 100)
    2) hardware firewall (only a question if server is dedicated I guess)
    3) backup, pref. offsite, pref. nightly or at least weekly
    4) managed hosting
    5) some degree of monitoring/alerting

    Important:

    1) Data security - some files need to be secure. This may mean that anything shared is out of the question, depending on how the server is set up?
    2) Uptime and reliability must be very good
    3) Fast and good support - responses within 1-2 hours are ideal, 24 hours or more to reply to a ticket is very not ideal.

    Am I asking for too much for too little? At present I feel I am paying too much for too much that I am not really using (That's not a typo - my package was the smallest available but still way more than I needed)

    I have been kind of out of touch with the web hosting world for quite a while, so I don't know who's got a good rep and who's not so great nowadays. If you are a happy customer or a host who has good things to say about another host (who is not affiliated with you!), I would love to hear your thoughts on who might be good for me to check out if I decide to move.

    [NB. I do not want any specific quotes or offers, just recs of hosts to check out based on the above requirements. Please do not PM me with offers ]

    TVMIA

  2. #2
    What are the specs of your current Dedicated?

    Your budget is more than enough to find a service that can withstand your use. In all honesty, your needs are rather basic. 20+ GB of Dedicated, non-oversold disk space and 2-3GB (Unless you meant TB) of monthly transfer won't be hard to accommodate.

    At the very least, I would suggest a VPS or Cloud VPS unless you absolutely require a Dedicated solution where no-one else is sharing the node's resources for security. However, a properly managed Virtual Server that is properly secured can offer you what you need.
    [ IncogNET LLC ] Privacy By Design [Liberty Lake, WA][Kansas City, MO][Allentown, PA][Naaldwijk, NL]
    [ Web Hosting | KVM VPS | Dedicated Servers | Domain Names | VPN | Censorship Resistance ]
    Services provided in the United States and Netherlands with privacy and freedom of speech being our top priority.


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Posts
    119
    Server Specs: 250GB SATA, 7200rpm, 1 IP address, 250GB b/w, RHE 5, 1GB DDR RAM, Single Socket Dual Core AMD Opteron 1212HE

    Yep, like I said, I'm paying too much for too much that I don't really need The traffic is pretty low so far so yes, I really meant 2-3GB b/w only

    I think the sticky point is the data security. That was the reason why I kept with the dedicated originally. But if a VPS can do this...yay!

  4. #4
    You are actually asking too little for too much money. A $25 a month cloud server from CloudWeb should more than cover your needs. Managed hosting is $100/month add-on.
    My personal blog -- rubiverse.net

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Posts
    119
    Thanks flam316. Have you had good experiences with CloudWeb and been with them long?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    118
    I agree, your needs are pretty basic. Are you paying for managed hosting? Or do you manage everything yourself?

    A managed dedicated server for your needs should be $100 or less a month.

    Since you asked about good hosts, I'm extremely happy with SecuredServers. It's unmanaged hosting, so if you like to do it yourself you could get a server for $60 a month. For managed hosting I prefer Amerinoc and CertifiedHosting.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by ryu View Post
    Thanks flam316. Have you had good experiences with CloudWeb and been with them long?
    I've used Cloudweb and can comment on their quality. Jason is a great guy, very helpful. He'll answer any questions you have.

    While they're no longer the backbone of our service, we still have some accounts (resold VPSes) with them and they've been great for those.
    [ IncogNET LLC ] Privacy By Design [Liberty Lake, WA][Kansas City, MO][Allentown, PA][Naaldwijk, NL]
    [ Web Hosting | KVM VPS | Dedicated Servers | Domain Names | VPN | Censorship Resistance ]
    Services provided in the United States and Netherlands with privacy and freedom of speech being our top priority.


  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by ryu View Post
    Thanks flam316. Have you had good experiences with CloudWeb and been with them long?
    To be honest, I haven't used them. I have seen a lot of reviews of them around this forum, and only 1 of them was partially negative (I can't seem to find the post at this moment). This is pretty good considering that I have seen a lot of CloudWeb reviews. What really caught my eye was when the owner of CloudWeb (Jason) responded promptly and explained the whole situation and went on to say that this was literally the only bad review he's seen from 13 years of business.

    A search of them on these forums might help.
    My personal blog -- rubiverse.net

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Posts
    119
    1 bad review in 13 years is pretty impressive thanks for the recs so far, I will look them up when I get a chance. please keep them coming - I would like to have a few more hosts to choose from if possible.

    lothos - I am paying for managed hosting but I usually do what I can myself whenever possible. I just like to have someone who knows more than me on tap in case I get in over my head, or accidentally wreck something while messing around

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by ryu View Post
    lothos - I am paying for managed hosting but I usually do what I can myself whenever possible. I just like to have someone who knows more than me on tap in case I get in over my head, or accidentally wreck something while messing around

    That's good thinking!

    I've also heard great things about LiquidWeb and WiredTree, seems that they offer very good quality VPS services as well. No personal experience with these companies, but the general consensus is they do what they do well.
    [ IncogNET LLC ] Privacy By Design [Liberty Lake, WA][Kansas City, MO][Allentown, PA][Naaldwijk, NL]
    [ Web Hosting | KVM VPS | Dedicated Servers | Domain Names | VPN | Censorship Resistance ]
    Services provided in the United States and Netherlands with privacy and freedom of speech being our top priority.


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    India
    Posts
    858
    For $20-30 a month, you can get the web hosting you need, with very competent tech support.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Posts
    462
    There are still good hosts out there :-P
    =>Admo.net Managed Hosting
    => Managed Hosting • Dedicated Servers • Colocation
    => Dark Fiber Access to 1102 Grand, Multiple Public Providers
    => Over •Sixteen• Years of Service

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Indonesia
    Posts
    205
    Just make sure that the technical support is responsible ones
    Resellerid.com
    Cheap & Powerfull Reseller Domain

    RESELLERID.COM | Affordable Domain Solution
    Reseller your domain and making profit

  14. #14
    Linode is a great provider, but they're unmanaged (meaning you have know Linux to use them, or higher someone who does). I have similar requirements to yours, I settled with them about 2 months ago, and I couldn't be happier. With your requirements, their lowest plan would probably work fine, and you could hire a third party management if you need it.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    2,762
    ryu, the truth is that you're paying WAY too much for what you're asking for.

    For example a typical Dedicated Server with the following specs:

    Intel Quad Core Q9300
    1TB Hard Disk
    8GB RAM
    $100 - $150/month

    So what you're getting is totally in the range of the Dedicated Server that you could get. Adding cPanel into the picture, you should be paying around $120-$170/month for this server.

    There's actually a very very VAST improvement in what you're paying for at the moment. Plus if you don't really know how to secure a server or something, you could just hire someone to do it for a 1 time fee of around $80.

    Don't just say because it's a BIG name, you should go with them. Just because their name is HostGator, you need to be with them. If everyone has this kind of mentality sooner or later, there will not be anyone left in the market except those bigger companies. One day, something like Mircosoft will appear.
    Aaron Ong
    Dedicated Servers - 100TB Servers - 100Mbps Unmetered Servers - Web Hosting - CDN Network
    Servers in Central, East/West Coast USA, EUROPE and ASIA
    Welltodo Century
    - www.welltodocentury.com

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Posts
    119
    Thanks very much to everyone for all the useful tips and recs, much appreciated! It sounds like I should be able to find something that works for me in the +/- $150 range - definitely the savings I had hoped for I will start checking all the recommended hosts out this weekend soon as I have some time to spare.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by aodat2 View Post
    Plus if you don't really know how to secure a server or something, you could just hire someone to do it for a 1 time fee of around $80.
    Computer security is process. You can't secure a server once, and expect it to stay secure. If someone told you they'll secure your sever for a one time fee of $80, they're either selling you snake oil, or they're family and are doing you a huge favor out of the goodness of their heart (or in return for payment in kind).

    No matter how good of a Linux security guru you higher, no one can secure your sever without your participation and cooperation.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    50
    Good hosts, in my opinion, are usually the companies of long experience and good balance of price and quality. Not too cheap, not too expensive. Also they should have own equipment, not just be a reseller of shared hosting.

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